Christina Aguilera was told to change name because of her Latin heritage

Christina Aguilera came forth revealing she was told by record executives that her name sounds 'too ethnic.'

In a new interview with Billboard, the songstress explained she was told that she should change her name. "Aguilera," she was told, was "too ethnic" and "too complicated."

She even revealed that she was suggested how she should change her name to 'Christina Agee.'

"I remember when I was first coming up, there was a big debate around me on changing my last name because all the businessmen around me thought it was too long, too complicated, and too ethnic. 'Christina Agee' was an option, but that clearly wasn't going to fly," Aguilera said.

"I was dead set against the idea and I wanted to represent who I really was. Being Latina, it is a part of my heritage and who I am," she added.

The singer further stated how she refused to take her stepfather's name because she wanted to carve out an identity of her own.

"There was another time in my childhood when I was being asked to legally change my name to my stepfather's to be legally adopted and I was again dead set against it," she said. "I've been fighting for my last name my whole life."

Aguilera added that she seeks great pride in her Latin heritage, part of why her album Mi Reflejo, is so dear to her.

"It was a beautiful thing to experience success in different markets and have a diverse fan base that grew in appreciating who I am," Aguilera shared.

"My message, as in all my music, stands for being fearless to explore who you are. It's never too late to open a new door. Although it's scary to dive into territory that isn't your first language, it still doesn't erase who I am and how I want to express myself in all aspects of what intrigues and inspires me," she concluded.